Thoughts From Psalms - Day 4

Psalm 84

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
    listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield, O God;
    look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you.

       The "sons of Korah". Who were they? We see through the Biblical genealogies that they were from the line of Levi and their lot in life was to take care of the temple which at this time in history was not a fixed structure but a movable "tent". They were responsible for picking it up, moving it, staking it down, keeping the candles lit, the incense burning, the bread baked and kept fresh, the music being played, and probably in this immediate family, watching the door or gate. I guess they were sort of like the bouncers making sure no one came into the presence of the Lord without doing it right. We also know that the Levites were not given land when Canaan was divided up because their inheritance was the Lord. When you look at the Psalm this way, you can't help but see some brothers getting together and writing a song about how stoked they were to go be bouncers at the "church" every day for the rest of their lives, because they got to be near the presence of God on a daily basis. They were even jealous of the birds that flew freely in this open air tabernacle and got to even make nests nearer to the presence of God than the sons could get. Plus, the sons had to take shifts and leave the presence while the birds got to live there.

            As I searched the sons of Korah, I found that they also wrote Psalm 42 which starts, "As the deer pants for water, so my soul longs after You". If you were to write a song about what your heart longs for, what would it be about? Probably it would be about vacation at the beach, hanging out with family, a relationship with the opposite sex, travelling the globe, a new kitchen, a winning lottery ticket, a new car or house - most likely anything but hanging out in the presence of God. Yet, these guys are saying, "You got some time off work and you are using it to travel to come to Zion to be in God's presence? That's awesome! You are going to be so blessed and energized and refreshed. Your strength and passion for life will be renewed."

           Fast forward to the New Testament where Christ comes to give us direct access to the Father as symbolized by the torn veil in the Holy of Holies. We can have 24-7 access to the Father through His Son who took away our sins and put His Spirit inside us who gives us life. Because His Spirit is alive in us, we no longer have to go to a building to be in the presence of God, but rather, we are the temple. We are the Holy of Holies. Therefore, in a very complicated way, we can be at the beach, on vacation, with our families, driving a new car, renting a new house with an amazing kitchen and yet be in the presence of God and worshipping Him in the midst of and at the center of everything around us.

          How do we get to this place where our minds are yearning, fainting, longing, panting for Him and our hearts are praising and crying out for Him, in the midst of a fallen, sinful and wicked world? This is the question, isn't it, because if loving God is the well - spring of our lives, basically we have arrived. There are a few hints in this passage. The first is seen in the sons of Korah calling God, "The God of Jacob." Why the God of Jacob? Do you remember who Jacob was? His name meant "deceiver" or "He cheats". He was a schemer who got the best of his uncle Laban and his brother Esau and lied to his old blind dad to get the inheritance. The first step in falling in love with God is to see ourselves as Jacobs, unworthy sinners. Luke gives an account of this at Simon's house where a woman "of ill repute" washed Jesus' feet and Simon was outraged that "a holy man" would let such a person touch him. Jesus then rebuked Simon in a parable about two debtors, one forgiven a small sum and one forgiven an insurmountable sum by a master, and asked Simon, "Who would love the master more?" Simon reluctantly answered, "The one with the larger debt", and Jesus' point was that if you think you are a pretty good person, your love for God is going to be lacking. When we realize the depth of our sinful heart, our "Jacobness", we can't help but love our forgiver, redeemer, and savior more and more.

          The second factor related to desiring God's presence more than anything else is "passing through the valley of Baka". This was not a specific geographical location but rather an idiom for sorrow as Baka means "weeping" or "desolation". As we go through those tough times or as David would say, "The Valley of the shadow of death", we meet God. We get rains of blessing showered on us which in Palestine, which averaged 25 inches of rain annually, was a good thing. When David talked about being led through this valley in Psalms 23, from that point on in the Psalm he no longer referred to God as "He" but as "You", almost as if to say, like Job, "I knew about You, now I know You." As much as we try to avoid these hard times and pain, they are means, unfortunately, that God uses to get to know, need, and love Him more.

        Lastly, as much as I emphasize that the sanctuary of God has moved from a place into our hearts, I would be remiss to imply that we don't need the place. We need to meet with fellow believers. We need to worship with other Christ followers. In fact, this is why this very Psalm exists - it was written for a choir to be sung in the assembly. No matter how vehemently one argues that they don't need to go to a place to worship God, without that place where other believers assemble, their love for God will grow cold. Putting a mildly glowing charcoal square in amongst other glowing coals, soon causes a raging fire. When did you feel closest and most in love with God in your life? Chances are it was at a camp, retreat, conference, or mission trip. What do all of these have? Fellow believers hanging out with each other discussing, serving, and worshipping God together. The doorkeepers in this Psalm could interact with every single worshipper of God and it made them say, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere."

          Can you say this? If not, chances are your love for God has grown cold. Immerse yourself in the presence of God and His people. Cry out for the presence of God. Serve Him and His people instead of yourself and you will be moving in the right direction towards a change of heart - a change of passion.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 104

                                   Luke 24:13-32

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.
¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
¹⁹ “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”


            Do you have any friends? Are they believers or unbelievers? If you have some friends who are believers, what kind of conversations do you have? Do you discuss spiritual things? Do you discuss current events and how to view them through a Biblical worldview? As I look at this passage, what jumps out at me today is this - two followers of Jesus are walking down the road together (riding in a car together) and are discussing current events and how to interpret them in the light of what they believe about Jesus.

         My wife and I have these discussions. I can't imagine what it must be like to be married to an unbeliever - you wouldn't be able to bring up spiritual matters because it increases the friction in the marriage. We discuss passages of scripture that we just read that morning and what God taught us. We discuss what is going on that day and what we need to be praying for. I wish I could say that we both believe the same and experience wonderful unity, but in fact, our discussions on politics, homosexuality, view of scripture, immigration, etc., in light of a Christian worldview, often leads to disagreement as we see things differently. Rather than get mad at each other, we really ought to rejoice that we are both concerned with putting Christ at the center of life and His Word as the authority (even though sometimes we interpret it differently)

        This weekend my wife, daughter, and I were sitting in the living room of her condo in Atlanta and started having a conversation about churches and as we batted around the topic of growing from the messages given by the preacher at a church, we came to the conclusion that none of us really grow from our preachers. So, rather than hunting for a new church, we realized that we grow from our personal studies of scripture and being put into situations where we have to serve outside our comfort zones. Our pastor should hopefully instill in us the desire to chase after the Lord, so we leave the church inspired and challenged to know Him more. Why am I sharing this? It is because talking with fellow believers about spiritual matters corrected my long held belief that leaving a church because you aren't being "fed" is a legitimate reason for leaving a church. It's not!

      What happened when these friends walked along the road and discussed spiritual things? Jesus showed up and taught them. They were "foolish and slow to believe" and Christ helped them to grow in their understanding. I would say that my wife and daughter have grown through Bible Study Fellowship more than anything. They have a three pronged approach where they have personal Bible study on a passage through the week, they meet in small group and discuss these things with fellow believers, and then a speaker teaches on the passage. If it was just a Bible study and a message, I think the growth would be limited. It is the discussion with fellow believers, I feel, that makes the growth take off.

      I encourage you to get in some sort of discussion group and watch and see. Christ will meet you there and grow you!

Thoughts on the Psalms - Day 3

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.


      Certainly one of the top 10 chapters in the Bible, Psalm 23 is commonly thought of as "the death Psalm" as it is read at most funerals. Hopefully, as we develop this Psalm, we will see that nothing could be further from the truth - this is a Psalm of life.

         The first thing to notice is that God is calling us to a life of surrender under the authority of a shepherd. The Bible uses the metaphor of a shepherd referring to God over 100 times. The Bible uses the analogy of us being sheep over 400 times! What do we know about sheep? Just using the letter "D" we know they are dumb, defenseless, diseased, dirty, directionally challenged, and dependent. Sheep can't be taught tricks - they can't be trained. Sheep will eat themselves right off a cliff. They will die of starvation with a lush field right next to them because they have to be led to it. They walk around in circles as they are directionally challenged. Sheep are the lowest animal on the food chain and can't defend themselves from any predators including bugs that burrow into their nostrils releasing larvae and being a vector for worms. And even though they look white from a distance, if you get up close, they are very dirty. With that being said, the positive is they are valuable. Every part of them can be used. Shepherds didn't have banks - their bank was the flock. That's why they would risk their lives to fight off predators like we would resist a robber. So with all that being said, the analogy is that God views us as so valuable that He sent His Son to die for us and our part is just to realize how helpless we are without Him and submit to His leadership. This is where salvation begins, at the point of our surrendering and humbling ourselves.

        When we come under the leadership of the Shepherd, what can we expect? First, our needs being met. We will never be "wanting". Second, our souls being restored or refreshed. I googled the top 10 ways to relieve stress and they were passion flower tea, massage, exercise, organize your life, eat healthy, limit technology, B vitamins, aromatherapy, sleep and meditation. Of those, meditation, if we are meditating on God and His word, is the one that works. Jesus said in Matt. 11:28-30

      “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

     Third, he leads and guides us into the paths that He has picked out for us that are pleasing, fit us well, and glorify God. So many people think that being "saved" is the culmination but that is just the beginning. Being saved only gets us on the right path. Now it's time to walk that path of righteousness and service in the Lord. The Holy Spirit will enable us and lead us on it. Unfortunately, those paths aren't always easy and are often dark and dangerous surrounded by enemies. The reason for that is twofold. First the world is watching and sees that even in the midst of trials your life reflects a "full table", a "cup overflowing". There is no better proof that Christianity is true than a faith that "works" in the midst of hardships. Secondly, this is the point in the Psalm where David transitions from third person "He" (about God) to second person "You" (to God). It is as if to say that through the dark times we get to know God better.

    Next, another benefit of living a life surrendered to our Shepherd is that we can live a fearless life, "I will fear no evil...". If we are living a life protected by our Shepherd on the path that he led us to, we can rest that nothing can happen to us that wasn't in His good plan for our lives. Nothing escapes His notice. His goodness and mercy surround us and the worst thing that can happen to us is we die and then we get to "...dwell in the house of the Lord forever" Understanding of this fact can and should lead us to fearless living.

     Lastly, we have the comforting of the Good Shepherd. The writer of Hebrews says,

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Heb. 4:14-16

     God, as a Shepherd, doesn't promise to get us out of or avoid every "time of need", nor does he promise we won't get ill, but in the midst of them He promises grace and mercy. He will be there in the midst of those, comforting us. He will have the "oil" to anoint us with that will soothe our cuts and keep the pests away, which is what the oil was used for in sheep. No wonder trials increase our closeness to Him as He has His arms around us during these times.

       So you see, this is a Psalm of life! Surrender to the Good Shepherd and your cup will overflow - not necessarily materially but with joy, purpose, meaning, peace, fruitfulness, fearlessness, and closeness with the One who made you.

     

Thoughts From Psalms - Day 2

Psalm 78

A maskil of Asaph.

¹ My people, hear my teaching;
    listen to the words of my mouth.
² I will open my mouth with a parable;
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
³ things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their descendants;
    we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders he has done.
⁵ He decreed statutes for Jacob
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
⁶ so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,
    and they in turn would tell their children.
⁷ Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget his deeds
    but would keep his commands.
⁸ They would not be like their ancestors—
    a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

        And then it goes on 64 more verses recounting the history of the Israelites up until the time of David, telling of how much God had done for them and their acts of rebellion against Him despite His patience and goodness to them. Here is a list of some of the things they did;

  vs 10 didn't keep God's covenant, refused to live by His law
  vs 17 continued to sin against Him, rebelled against the Most High in the desert
  vs 18 willfully put God to the test
  vs 19 spoke against God
  vs 22 Did not believe in God, did not trust His deliverance
  vs 36 flattered Him with their lips, lied to Him with their tongues
  vs 40 grieved Him in the wasteland
  vs 41 vexed the Holy One of Israel
  vs 42 didn't remember His power
  vs 58 angered Him with their high places, aroused His jealousy with their idols

        Notice how each of these verses have one thing in common - when we sin, it is against Him. Sin isn't some random breaking of a list of rules but something much more than that. Sin is a personal affront to a personal God. When Jesus told us how to address God, He overwhelmingly told us to use the name "Father". You can't get more personal than that. We often say that religion is following rules but Christianity is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If that is true, then every sin is a breech in that relationship. It is a slap in God's face. Thus, the best deterrent to sin is to get our hearts or our kid's "hearts loyal to God" and their "spirits faithful to Him," so that when we sin or are tempted to sin we are grieved at how this would or did affect the One we are in love with. Psalm 119:127,128 says

¹²⁷ Because I love your commands
    more than gold, more than pure gold,
¹²⁸ and because I consider all your precepts right,
    I hate every wrong path.

Psalm 1, which we just discussed, tells how to lead the fruitful life that God intended for us, and the key to that is found in verse 2;

"...but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,"

         I was contemplating how to illustrate this and I came up with this - Our middle son is a mess. When he comes home for Holidays or goes on vacation with us, the floor in his room is so cluttered in 6 hours that you can't walk on it. You should see the room where he lives! Now, I have to admit that he gets this honestly as I'm sure my messiness in the 20's was equal to his. The difference is I'm now married, and although I still see the floor as a reasonable place to place tomorrow's wardrobe, my wife doesn't. She sees it as an affront to her personally as she desires a tidy house. Therefore, the previous "clean up your room, it's a pig sty" or "messiness is a bad character trait" or whatever was used to motivate me to pick up after myself that never worked, was replaced by the effective "I will pick up after myself because it makes my wife happy and I love my wife."

      So how does one get this love for God that changes our hearts so we delight to do His will? And, how do we parent this heart for God into our children? Lets start with kids. Primarily it is to make God and the things of God winsome and fun. If you call to your kids and yell, "devotion time" or "time to go to church" or "time for youth group", your child should come racing. If they come groaning or complaining, you are losing the battle for their hearts. Devotions should be fun, kinetic, loud, and geared toward their level of comprehension. For example, we studied the parable of the sower last night. I showed a couple animated YouTube clips on the parable (that were short) after singing 3 songs that the kids love from the same site. Then we went outside and looked at a couple of planters one with plants growing and one where they didn't. Then we discussed why they didn't or did grow and related it to the parable and their lives. The problem was they were all under 4 so none of the grandchildren got it. They liked the story and worship time so it wasn't a complete bust. But, at least we did it and they had fun. Why do kids love VBS and church hop because they can't get enough? Because they sing and dance to fun songs, have excited teachers teaching stories to their level with crafts and snacks. Is there any reason you can't do that at home? If your kids don't like church, Sunday School or youth group, you seriously need to think about changing churches or leading their youth group or SS class. David says in Psalm 34:8;

     "Taste and see that the Lord is good"

   This should be our under-arching verse for every spiritual thing we do with our kids. But what about you? How do you rekindle your love for God? That's a tough one but I will tell you what did it for me. The parable of the sower and the seeds tells of the third destination of the seeds was the thorny soil. The seeds grew but they were choked by all the cares of the world. For me, mission trips to third world countries where there is no TV, internet, or other distractions - nothing but Jesus and His people serving the poor brings a closeness like nothing else. May it never be said of us, "These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me."



     

Thoughts From Psalms - Day 1

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

         When I look at this passage, I see two types of people. There are the righteous who are characterized as those who delight in and meditate on God's word. They are characterized as yielding fruit, not withering, prospering, assembling with other righteous, standing on judgement day, and on a path that is watched over by God. Then there are the wicked who are described as sinners, mockers, chaff that the wind blows away, humbled at judgement day or in a group of righteous people, and on a path leading to destruction. The Psalmist doesn't include a third group. He doesn't say "And then there are those who can't really be categorized as wicked because they are basically good people, nor can they be categorized as ones who really get into God, His word, or assembling together." Jesus, also, in Matthew 7:13,14 says that there are two paths people are on, one that leads to life and one that leads to destruction...

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

        John, in his first epistle, divides the population into Children of God and Children of the devil. It would appear that throughout scripture you are either for Jesus or you are against Him. You are either saved or lost. You are either bound for Heaven or Hell. There is no middle road, no free agent status. There is either the NFL or AFL but the World Football League is not an option.

      This is what is so dangerous to us who identify with the Children of God because it is easy to stay away from those mocking God or actively doing evil, but those who really don't appear flagrantly evil are a lure to us. They are our neighbors who don't go to Church or read their Bibles but have good families and maybe are even more appealing than our brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead of church on Sunday, they go with their family to the lake or camping. Maybe they just invested in a boat or lake house to enjoy with their family. Maybe they just built a swimming pool for their kids. They are about to go on an extravagant Disney vacation that you can't afford. Now obviously, I've been to Disney, the lake, camping, and I have a swimming pool. Therefore, I relate to them and see nothing wrong with walking with them, standing with them, or sitting with them. I don't see anything wicked about them and that is why they are so dangerous. If you examine the Sermon on the Mount closely, you will see that Jesus wasn't contrasting extremely wicked people with righteous people. Jesus was contrasting people who both prayed, went to church, gave money to the poor, fasted, and had similar looking "houses" or lives yet both were built on different foundations - one that stood and one that was blown away by the wind like chaff.

        Therefore, as David tells us to be careful to avoid intimacy with the wicked because we don't want their wicked behavior nor its consequences rubbing off on us, we need to remember that their foundations on which they base their lives can be contagious, too. This is the subtle, insidious, hidden danger of intimacy with unbelievers. What is their foundation? Basically it can be summarized as idolatry. Anything that we are substituting for God as the source, meaning, love of our life is an idol. So as I listed some theoretical "good" activities that they may be involved in, the danger is that we might start putting the family, pleasure, money, leisure ahead of our love for God and not even know we are doing it. Slowly we start living for this Earth and all it has to offer, even though James says that our life here is like a vapor. We start making Kingdom of Earth decisions rather than Kingdom of Heaven decisions.

       What are the results of this drifting? First of all we lose the "blessed" in verse 1. When we talk about "blessed" we usually make the mistake of seeing it through earthly eyes - a nice house, a fat paycheck, a good job, good looking kids, health, intelligence, and other covetable characteristics. I'm not saying God can't bless you with those things but a lot of that is "First-World" or Western thinking. I think what the Psalmist is saying is more the ability to sleep at night. The freedom from an ulcer or high blood pressure due to anxiety, stress, or indebtedness. The absence of worry about death, the economy, politics, terrorism, the future. The Peace of knowing that your forever is a lock. The Hope of a new body and a great future inheriting the riches of the King of this Earth as an adopted member of His family is forgotten as you strive for riches and a great body. The blessed life is one with peace, joy, and hope and this is what the idols of this world steal from you. I believe this is the fruit being yielded in verse 3.

       Another result of drifting is seen in verse 3 when David talks about withering. What does withering mean? I think it relates to your relationship with God drying up. Your prayer life gets stale, your times in God's word are dry like you are reading words on a page not the living breathing word of God. You have nothing to offer people because you are exhausted and tapped out. Your previous growing, exciting faith has dried up. Maybe your family relationships are taking a hit because they have become casualties of new priorities. This is withering and it usually leads to a trip to the doctor for antidepressants.

      Verse 3 also talks about "whatever he does prospers". A life not delighted on and in God would lose its prospering. I think of Joseph in prison and because he delighted in God, everything he put his hand to prospered. James says, "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines." If we are replacing God with idols, He is not going to make it smooth sailing for us. Verse 6 says "He watches over the way of the righteous". If everything is going wrong for you lately, you seem to have a black cloud over your head, maybe God is saying that your new motivation for life is not working. Come back to the One who blesses, prospers, and brings a fruitful not withered life.

          Lastly you will start drifting from the assembly of the righteous. It doesn't thrill you anymore. Worship is just repeating the same words over and over. The pastor's message was a bore and you didn't get anything out of it. You can worship God just as well on the golf course or fishing boat." How can I have a day of rest if I have to get up at 8AM to get ready for church?"These are all the lies and excuses you start telling yourself as you drift away from God at the center.

        Do you recognize any of those in your life? It is easy to get off-center because Satan is clever enough to know you aren't going to hang out with blatant sinners or mockers of God. He will bring people into your life to entice you to slowly drift away until you become the thorny not fruitful soil. Beware! Remember your first love. Repent and return!